Tip of the Week: Better Video Conferencing for Better Meetings

Today’s businesses have swiftly adopted video conferencing, even before business continuity required it. Considering this, let’s examine how your team can make the most of their video conferences with a few tips.

Establishing Your Space

Whether in the office or working remotely, make sure that your webcam isn’t going to pick up something that you wouldn’t want broadcast. Trying to find a quieter area and requesting not to be disturbed until further notice can greatly reduce your chances of being interrupted mid-meeting.

Beyond that, make sure that your background is tidy and that nothing is visible to the camera that is sensitive, embarrassing, or some combination of the two behind you. This, paired with the right lighting, will make you look all the better to your colleagues.

Another way to look better to your colleagues is to do a bit of grooming so you really do look better to them. Sticking to the company dress code and cleaning yourself up a little can go a long way, especially now that so many are operating from the relative comfort of home.

Stick to the Plan

Anyone who has participated in a video conference knows that—despite the vastly different format—the same pitfalls that throw an in-person meeting off course can have just as much of an impact. For instance, tangential conversations and idle chit-chat can expend your available time and distract from your primary goals.

One big way that you can mitigate some of this is to minimize the opportunity for drifting thoughts and lulls in the conversation. Preparing an agenda and gathering any reference materials needed beforehand creates an itinerary to follow. Sharing these materials with participants ahead of time allows them to have questions and suggestions prepared, as well as can help avoid any interruptions from someone having an issue opening a document.

Of course, you need to be sure you are planning for a little bit of casual conversation. Good manners dictate that a brief check-in with the other participants be allowed, so act courteously and plan for your participants asking each other about their lives.

Continue this Courtesy

Of course, during a remote meeting, the rules of etiquette will need to adjust somewhat to match the meeting’s environment.

For starters, in-person meetings don’t commonly feature microphones, but remote ones rely on them. Keep in mind that your mic is live, and that any noises in your home can be extremely distracting to your fellow team members. While it isn’t recommended that you remain muted all the time, make sure that you do so as needed.

Your coworkers don’t need to be aware of what you hum to yourself on your bathroom breaks, after all.

It is also important that you devote your full attention to the meeting at hand and focus on what is going on around you. Even if you aren’t currently involved with a project, there may be something mentioned that you need to hear. Don’t waste the time of the other people in the meeting by working on other things or checking your email.

With these guidelines to start off from, your remote meetings (as well as your face-to-face ones) have a much better chance of success. BNMC can provide the technology and IT solutions you need to support your remote collaboration and video conferencing. Find out how we can help by calling 978-482-2020.

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